teamking

Anyone else ever done that?

I thought I was nearing the end of my big winter project... I have repaired a leak in the exhaust crossover pipe, installed a new camshaft housing gasket, replaced all the front seals and did the timing and balance belts and water pump gasket.

This morning, as I was attaching the fuel rail, I ran into a snag.

The injectors didn't want to "pop" into place on the intake manifold. But I figured as I torqued down the bolts that mount the fuel rail onto the intake manifold, they would. (I should have taken them out and lubed them, so this was mostly my fault)

I was applying a fair amount of torque, but then the intake manifold cracked, just as the fuel rail bracket was seating against the intake manifold. It seems that the bolt was too long for the hole. The tip of the bolt seated inside the hole *before* or *as* the bracket seated outside the hole. If I'd added another washer, I'd have been fine. But instead, the manifold cracked.

So, I guess I'm in the market for an intake manifold.

FRporscheman

That sucks, dude!

I'm sure you could get away with only 3 of 4 bolts holding down the fuel rail. But if you have time, it would be best to replace the intake manifold. Where are you located? I have a spare NA intake if you can't find one locally.

SeanR

Fuel rail/injector install tools.

teamking

Huh, interesting idea. I'm not sure about how well the jbweld would hold, but...

If I drilled out a few more mm and tapped it and used a slightly longer bolt, then the broken piece would be essentially acting as a spacer in compression (and shouldn't move with or without jbweld).

I gotta think about that...

teamking

Mine is a 951. I'm in Charlottesville, VA.

Anyone who has one they could ship (or for pickup here, Richmond, or NoVA), I'd love to hear from!

teamking

Not being facetious, but is this why there is an aftermarket for fuel rails (i.e. they are developing fatigue/cracks during removal/install)?

SeanR

Dunno about that, I can say that I've done hundreds of them with the above two things though. Never had one break. You do have to have some sort of self control though, beating the snot out of them might be fun, but kinda defeats the purpose.

Mangonesailor

Mine cracked in some place near the rear intake-side bracket. The intake has been off before to change the turbo and that's all I know. From what I could tell it cracked "Just because." I've seen a few threads on here about cracked rails and people patching them by getting them brazed as well.

hacker-pschorr

You can get away with a lot of bolts on any car, one that keeps the fuel injectors from spraying down your hot engine with gasoline is not one of them.

North Coast Cab

You need to put assembly lube on both end of the injectors before inserting. If you force it you run the risk of cutting the o-rings.

LS1Porch

Assembly lube: vaseline or KY.

F40LM

I prefer astro glide myself.

teamking

The day my buddy told me about what happened when a bracket broke on his fuel rail while on track was the day I purchased my fire system.

tbg22

I have a perfect condition manifold. My care came with the Lindsey Racing intake manifold as well as the factory unit.

I will send you a PM

FRporscheman

I (clearly) thought his car was an NA, which would only have vacuum under the injector, and therefore not cause a fuel injector / rail to pop out. The number 84 in his avatar made me think of an early 944.

On the NA, these little bolts don't really hold the fuel rail from jumping off and allowing fuel to gush all over, they just hold the fuel rail from vibrating around. On the turbo, especially if you're running higher boost, I'd make sure all the bolts are fastened properly. I wouldn't trust JB weld or anything like that.